Process and apparatus for sealing construction and expansion joints



July 14, 1931. G. w. CHRISTIANS PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR SEALINGCONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION JOINTS Filed March 26. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet ly 14, 1931- G. w. CHRISTIANS 1,814,127

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION JOINTSFiled March 26. 1930 3 SheetsSheet 2 6.. M C'fiirstiams July 14, 1931.G. w. CHRISTIANS PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONSTRUCTION ANDEXPANSION JOINTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 26. 1930 gwmntoz M. cf. ll1y! Patented July 14, 1931 PATENT OFFICE GEORGE W. CHRISTIAIN'S, 0FCHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE YROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONSTRUCTIONAND EXPANSION JOINTS Application filed. March 26, 1980. Serial No.439,153.

This invention. relates to processes and apparatus for sealingconstruction and expansion joints by means of thermoplastic materials,such as asphalt, and may be used for the sealing of joints in concretefor shafts, tunnels, subways, building walls or floors,

where it is desired to prevent leakage.

One of the salient objects of the present invention is to provide asystem in which a a passageway is left in the joint when the latter ismade, and through this passageway, I extend an electric heating elementwhich functions tolmaintain thermoplastic material in fluid conditionwhile it is forced through the passageway from one end to the other. Thesystem is such that as soon as the sealing material commences todischarge from the outlet end of the passageway, this end may be closedby a suitable p ug, so that the material may be forced into the otherend of the passageway under suitable pressure until the'seal iscompleted.

Another object is to furnish a system of thiscliaracter including a feedpipe and an electric conductor which may be extended from a commonsupply point to the various joints to be sealed, and ma bezreadilyattached to the structure in w ich the joint is formed.

A further object is to plug the joint in forming the passageway in suchmanner that the pressure exerted on the sealing material acts towedge-the plu in the joint and thereby prevent leakage o the sealingmaterial from the passageway while the sealing material is being forcedinto the latter.

Another object is to provide a systemfor sealing existing joints bydrilling suitable holes in the joint at angles to one another,

to so as to form a tortuous passageway through which the electricheating element may be threaded, and through which the fluidthermoplastic material may be pumped.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view whichwill appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in thenovel features hereafter described in detail, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a shaft undergoing sealing bymeans of my improved system.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a wal and one of its vertical joints,the latter being provided with a portion of the improved sealing means.

Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view on the line 4-4- of Fig. 3. v

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a joint in a floor or vertical wall, tobe sealed in accordance with my invention.

. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the same on the line 6-6 ofFig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a. transverse sectional View of a portion of a tunnel showingthe manner of sealing a joint in the same by means of my invention, thesection being taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 8.

Fi 8 is a sectional view of the tunnel on the hue 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of a wall joint, andillustrating the manner of sealing suchexisting joints, the fictionsbeing taken on-the line 99 of Fig.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view partly in secso tion, of the structureillustrated in Fi 9.

In the embodiment of. the invention i lustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, shaftlining rings 11 of concrete are poured in the usual manner, a lowerringalways being poured after 5 the next adjacent ring above. However, in

tne same on 55 providing joints between these rings, after the concretehas been poured up to within say three inches of the lower end of anupper ring, a three inch circular cavity will be left between theadjacent ends of the two rings. In the outer portion of this cavity, Iarrange at spaced points, insulators 12 which be equipped with pins 13,so that they can be driven into the soil 14 suri'ounding the shaft, andthrough these insulators, I thread a resistance wire 15, so as to form asubstantially circular eiectric heating element, as shown in Fig. 2. Therecess in which the wire is arranged is provided with we which extendthrough these pipes, are pref.

erably insulated so as to prevent short circuiting. 1

After the insulators 12, heating wire 15, dams 16 and 17, and pipes 18and 19 have been arranged as shown in Fig. 2, an annuthe dam 17 and t ebore by laced between and, so as to lus 22 of rather dr mortar iscomplete the joint.

In this way, each joint is formed as the shaft is poured, andpreferably, after all of the joints have been made, I seal thepassageways in the joints by means of thermoplastic material. Suchmaterial may be placed in a supply tank 23 that is maintained in heatedcondition by any suitable means such as a burner 24. Assuming that thesealing material is asphalt, such asphalt will be forced by a pump 25from the tank through a down pipe'26, the lower end of which is providedwith a fitting 2? that is coupled to the intake pipe 18 by means of anordinary threaded collar 28. It will be understood that inthis way theasphalt may be pumped into the intake pipe 18 of the passageway, andwill travel around the latter until it commences to discharge throughthe outlet pipe 19.' At such time, the latter may be plugged so thatfurther'pumping Will act to compress the thermoplastic material, and tocause the same to move into adjacent interstices, so as toeffectivelyseal the joint.

For the purpose of maintaining the sealing material in fluid conditionas it flows around the passageway, and seals the joint, the insulatedend 20 of the wire extends through the fitting 27, and is maintainedtaut by a spring 29 which is arranged between a stop member 30 at theouter end of the wire, and the fitting 27. The fitting is provided witha solid arm 31 through which the insulated end 21 of the wire extends,and this end is held taut by a spring 32 that presses at one end againstthe arm 31, and at the other end against a stop member 33 on the end ofthe wire.

Current is led to the heating wire from line wires 34 and 35 by means ofa cable 36, and it will be understood that when current is permitted toflow through the wire 15, that the interior of the passageway'will bemaintained at proper temperature to keep the thermo lastic material influid condition.

After a oint is sealed inthis manner, the

fitting 27 can be extended to the next joint,

the ends 20 and 21 of the heating wire can-be severed, and then screwthreaded caps 37 can be used to close the ends of the pipes 18 and 19.Subsequently, if it is necessary to renew the sealing, the caps 37 canbe removed, the fitting 27 can be attached to the pipe 18, and the endsof. .the-heating wire can be connected to the line wires. Then, whencurrent is passed through the heating wire, the thermoplastic-materialwithin the joint will be softened, ,-and the pressure of the pump 25 maybeused to force additional thermoplastic material into the, joint.

The insulators 12 are not especially important. Usually, there is noother highly conducting material present, and with the low voltagesused, there will be very little loss of current, if the heating wire didmake contact with the rock or concrete. For the same reason, springs 29,32 to keep the wire taut, are not essential.

In Figs. 3 and 4, I illustrate the manner in which this system may beemployed to seal vertical joints in a concrete wall. For

example, at the time of erecting the wall 40, a vertical space, (aportion of which is wedge-shaped as illustrated), if left betweenadjacent portions 41 and 42 of the same, and the opposite walls of thisspace are preferably shapedas shown in Fig. 3. Consequently, insulators43 maybe arranged in the rear pdrtion of this space, and theseinsulators may be provided with pins 44 to permit them to be supportedby the ground 45 against'which the'wall is erected. As these insulatorsare arranged one above the other, a heating wire 46 may be verticallythreaded through the same, and then a partition or dam 47 may be placedin the crevice with its edges resting against vertical shoulders 48formed in the wedge-shaped portion of the slot. Afterwards, dams or endclosures 49 and 50 may be arranged at the ends of the passageways, thusformed, and an inlet pipe 51 is connected to the end closure 49, and anoutlet pipe 52 is connected to the end closure '50, and the ends of theheating wire are insulated and extended through these pipes, so thatthey may be connected to the line wires.

After assembling the parts in this manner, a grout plug 53 or'the like,may be introduced into the wedge-shaped portion of force hot asphalt orother suitable themoplastic material through the passageway, so

as to fill the latter with the sealing material,

as indicated at 54, and as soon as this material commences to dischargefrom the pipe 52, the latter can be plugged to allow the necessarypressure to be placed on the sealbe wedged into the slot between thewall sections, Without forcing out the plug ing material, Thewedge-shaped portion of the slot also makes it easy to install the dam48. Of course, after the job is completed, the ends of the pipes 51 and52 may be provided with caps such as 37, so as to permit renewing of theseal in the future in the same manner as that described in connectionwith Fi s. 1 and 2.

' he same procedure may be followed in sealing a joint in a floor orhorizontal joint in a vertical wall, as illustrated in Figs.

and 6. In such a case, a crevice will be left between adjacent slabs and61 of the floor, and in the bottom portion of this crevice, a

horizontal series of insulators 62 may be placed to support theresistance wire 63. A

horizontal dam or partition 64 will be 10- cated above the insulators tocomplete the passageway, and afterwards, grouting 65 may be introducedinto the crevice to complete the joint,

End closures 66 and 67 will. be arranged at the ends of the passageway,and they will be connected respectively, to inlet and outlet s 68 and69, through which the ids o he heating wire extend.

' the ends of the resistsuitahle line material will such sealing andseal the '1 LL or t latter ay is com- 'tition provided romeo; re-

is hen it is properly complete the i sageway along t means of ices ,orinterstices and 7 efi'ectively seal the joint.

If it is desired to use this system for sealing joints in existingstructures, this may be done in the manner which will now be describedin connection with Figs. 9 and 10. Those Figures show a horizontallydisposed joint, but I desire to be understood that the same system maybe employed for vertical joints or for 'oints of the type shown in Figs.1 to 8 inclusive. In either event, a drill or the like is emplo ed toform a tortuous pasli e joint. For instance, the drill maybe used toextend an inclined duct 90 from the exterior of the wall through thejoint materiol91 to the rear of the wall, andthen another duct 92 may bedrilled fromthe exterior, soi as to make a V-shaped conduit. Thisprocedure is continued until a zig-zag assa eway 98-exaends throughout adesired en Eofthe -oint, and afterwards, points of entrance 0 the drillmay be closed by plugs 94 of concrete or the like, and finall aresistance wire 95 is threaded through t is passageway from-the inlet 96to the outlet 97 of the passageway. Insulated ends of this wire arepassed through inlet and outlet pipes 98 and 99, and these ends areconnected to the line wires. Afterwards, the hot thermoplastic materialis forced through the tortuous passageway, and is maintained in heatedcondition dur ing such passage by means the resistance wire, As soon asthe sealing material conimences to discharge from the 99, the latter isplugged and the pumping is con-- tinued until proper sealing is etlectehen the pumping means is d'" r 1 from the pipe 98, the Wires are sev idscrew caps may be placed on outer e as of the pipes, so to 2 U renewedin the tutu Heretofore, l have joints by extending a and pumping hotWhile maintainin in heated condition. hole extends only p a and the holehas a cottoni, one cannot readily a is completely fill r reas with myproved system, the open ends, the sealing h s pumped into one of theseends, and travel 21; toward the other, so that as soon as the materialcoinmences to discharge from outlet end of the passageway, an i die tronimmediately. given that the assa Way is ll h time, the operate lugsoutlet passageway and then completes lion under pressure,

It will also be a preciated that the present invention elimi 0' using apipe line in the passageway, r simply make use of the passageway itselito provide over,'the present system assists inpreventing a conduit forthe sealing material. Moreshort circuiting, due to the fact that thematerial in the passageway may readily flo around the insulators.

While I have disclosed what vention in such manner that thesame maybe'readily understood by those skilled in the art, I am aware thatchanges may be made in of the latter, plugging the last mentioned end ofthe passageway, and radiating heat within the passageway to maintainthe.sealing material in fluid condition during the sealing operation.

2. A method of sealing construction or expansion joints, comprisingextending a passageway a ong the joint, forcing hot thermoplasticlmaterial v through the pas- 1 sageway from one end of the latter to theer, plugging the last mentioned 8113* of the passageway after thesealing material commences to escape from the same, radiating heat fromwithin the passageway for maintaining the sealing material in fluidcondition during the sealing operation, and

' outlet end of the passa eway.-

continuing to force the sealing material into the passa eway underpressure after the outlet end 0 the passageway hasbeen plugged.

3. A method of. sealing construction or expansion joints, comprisingextending a passageway along the joint, forcing hot thermoplasticsealing material through the passageway from one end to the other of theatter, plugging the last mentioned end of the passageway after thesealing material commences to escape from the same, electrically heatingthe passageway for maintaining the sealing material in fluid conditionduring the sealing operation, and continuing to pump sealing materialinto the passageway under pressureafter the plugging of the 4. A methodof sea ing construction or expansion .joints, comprising extending apassageway along the oint, extending a resistance wire along thepassageway, forcing hot thermoplastic sealing material through thepassagewa from one end of the latter toward the ot er, plugging the lastmen-. tioned end of the passageway as soon as the sealing materialcommences to escape from the same, and passing electric current throughsaid resistance wire while the seal- I now con- 1 'sider to-be'preferred'embodiments of the ining material is flowing through thepassageway for 'maintaining said material in fluid condition.

5. A method of sealing construction or 'ex-. pansion joints, comprisingextending a passagewa along said joint and causing the ends 0 thepassageway to extend to the exterior of the 'oint, extending aresistance wire along sai passageway, and projectin theends of said wirethrough the ends 0 the passageway, forcing hot thermoplastic sealingmaterial through the assageway from one end of the latter towar theother, and passing an electric current through said wire to generateheat for maintaining the sealing material in fluid condition whileflowing through the passageway. 6. A method for sealing construction orexpansion joints, com rising extending a passageway along the oint,extending conduits from the ends of the passagewa the exterior of thejoint, one of said con uits forming an inlet and the other an outlet forthe passageway, forcing hot thermoplastic sealing material-through thepassageway by introducing the same under pressure into the inlet conduitof the passageway, and generating heat within the passageway formaintaining the sealing material in fluid condition in the latter duringthe sealing operation.

7. A method of sealing construction and expansion joints, comprisingextending a passageway along the joint, extending 'conduits from theends of the passagewa to the exterior of the joint, one of said con uitsforming an inlet and the other an outlet for the passageway, forcing hotthermoplastic sealing material through the passagewayby introducing thesame under pressure into the inlet conduit, maintaining the sealingmaterial in fluid condition while flowing through the passageway, andcapping the exterior ends of the conduits after the sealing operation iscompleted.

8. A method of sealing construction or expansion joints, comprisingextending a passageway along the joint, extending inlet and outletconduits from the'ends of the passageway to the exterior of the joint,arranging an electric resistance wire along the passageway andprojecting its ends to the exterior through said conduits, forcin hotthermoplastic sealing materialthroug the passageway by introducing'thesame under pressure into the inlet conduit, passing an electriccurrent through the resistance wire during the sealing operation formaintaining the sealing material in fluid condition as it flows throughthe passageway, afterwards severing the ends of the resistance wire andpermitting said ends to remain within said conduits, and finally cappingthe exterior ends of said conduits.

9. A method of sealing construction and and passing electric currentthrough the reexpansion joints, comprising extending a passageway alongthe joint, arranging insulators at spaced points along the passage way,extending a resistance wire along the passageway and connecting the wireto said insulators, extending the ends of the wire to the exterior ofthe joint, forcing hot thermoplastic material through the passagewayfrom end to end of the latter under pressure, and thereby completelyfilling the passageway with said thermoplastic material,

sistance wire during the sealing operation for maintaining thethermoplastic material in fluid condition as it flows through thepassageway.

10. A method of sealing a joint between concrete lining rings of ashaft, comprising leaving an annular space between the ends of adjacentrings during the pouring of the concrete, arranging insulators radiallyalong said space, placing dams in the space so as to form With theconcrete and the surrounding soil, a passageway, extending an inlet andan outlet conduit into the shaft from the ends of the passageway,filling the remainder of the space interiorly of one oi? said dams withplastic material, extending a resistance wire through said conduits andpassageway, and connecting the wire to the insulators, forcing hotthermoplastic scaling material through the passageway by introducing thesame under pressure into the inlet conduit and allowing it to flowtoward the outlet conduit, and passing an electric cur rent through saidresistance wire during the sealing operation for maintaining the sealingmaterial in fluid condition it flows along the passageway.

11. A method oi? sealing a idjaccnt ends of the concrete i c, comprisingextending a .A nan-way between the adjacent rings, placing a daintrair"Attillll-WELY, arranging 1. along the channel-way, then nular darn atthe mouth of so as to form a passageway h. i separated by the transversedam, ex inlct and outlet conduits from the ends i the passageway to theinterior the shat't, extending a resistance wire along the passagewaythrough said insulators mitting its ends to project ough said conduits,forcing hot thermoplastic sealing material under pressure through thepassageway by introducing the same into said inlet conduit, andmaintaining sealing material in fluid condition within the pas bypassing an electric current through aid resistance wire,

121i method of sealing constr ction joints or the like, comprisingleaving channel-way along the joint during erection of the structure,extending resistper I ance wire through said channel-way, supporting thewire in the channel-way b insulators, placing a dam, in the channe wayto provide. a assageway through which the wire exten s, forcing hotthermoplastic material through said passageway from end to end of thelatter, and passing electric current through the resistance Wire formaintaining said material in fluid condition during'the sealingoperation.

13. A method of sealing a joint in an existing construction, comprisingcutting a tortuous passageway along the joint, forcing hot t ermoplasticmaterial under pres sure through said passageway, and generating heatwithin the passageway for maintaming the material in fluid condition asit flows along the latter.

14. 'A method of sealing an existing joint in a construct-ion,comprising Y-shaped conduits along the joint, connecting these conduitsto form a tortuous passageway extending along the joint, forcing hotthermoplastic material through said passageway from end to end of thelatter,

and maintaining the material infiuid consaid ntting. V tor sealingconstrue L sion oints, comprising means w orn a passage-Fray in saidjoint, inlet in outlet CODtllitS connected to the ends of thepassageway, an electric resistance wire extending along the passagewayhaving its ends pro ecting tnrough said conduits, ans for passiielectric current said tubular ng detachahly coniiect teen-z d means r a"c nstruction or expansion ng passageway having iniet nduits,suostantialiy solid thermoplastic sealin material filling saidpassageway, an e ectric resistance wire extendfling along thepassageway, embedded in said sealing material-and having its endsprojecting into the conduits and caps closmg the external ends of saidconduits;

'19. A method of sealing construction or expansion joints,'compris1ngshaping opposite walls of the joint to provide surfaces conver ingtoward the outer side of the joint, ing the portion of the joint havingthe converging surfaces with a wedge shaped plug, leaving a passagewaywithin the joint'on the broad side of said plug,

and forcing hot thermoplastic material into said passageway and therebycausing the plu to wedge itself against said converging sur aces.

20. A construction or expansion joint having opposite surfacesconverging toward the outer side of the joint, a wedge-shaped plufilling the space in the joint between sai converging surfaces, apassagewa in the joint arranged on the broad side 0 the wedge-shapedplug, an electric, resistance wire extending along the passageway, and

thermoplastic sealing material filling said passageway and covering theresistance wire.

In testimony whereof, Ihereto afiix my signature.

GEORGE W. CHRISTIANS.

